


no barriers except those we ourselves erect

by emothy



Series: Gaim PacRim [2]
Category: Kamen Rider Gaim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Drifting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-18 07:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3561470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emothy/pseuds/emothy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takatora so wants to be drift compatible with Mitsuzane...</p>
            </blockquote>





	no barriers except those we ourselves erect

-

There's a barrier. A thick, tough barrier that doesn't yield beneath his fingers, one he's too afraid to come at with force. Takatora recognises it for what it is - fear - and wonders how he managed to carry it into the drift with him when he mastered that discipline years ago. 

Then he realises it isn't his fear. It's Mitsuzane's.

_helpstopwait screaming crying crashing, buildings toppling, burning, smoke, crackling, sirens, screaming, the screams, the screams, the **screams** -_

It's a dome (of _course_ it's a dome, Mitsuzane practically grew up inside one), and inside the thick walls of it sits a tiny, skinny boy, knees huddled up to his chest, head ducked down, eyes peering out from behind soft, dark hair, because he can't not look, he has to look, he has to know what's coming next; what if he has to _run_ -?

Takatora doesn't need force to breach this barrier. He stops trying to push his entire palm through it and tilts his hand until only his fingertips are angled to brush at the dome. He just barely penetrates it with the longest of his fingers before the entire thing shudders and the boy's head jerks up like he knew something terrible was coming all along. There's fear in his eyes, of course, but the rest is resignation. He lives like he expects to die at any moment. 

Takatora's heart bleeds. _This isn't what I wanted for you. I've been fighting ever since adolescence so that you wouldn't have to live in fear. Everything I've been doing has been to keep you safe-_

His thoughts bounce right off the barrier. 

He'll try something else. There's a connection, a tiny way in through the holes he has pierced through Mitsuzane's shield with his fingertips. He offers comfort. He searches through his memories for an example of a time he gave Mitsuzane a hug; there are more than enough of them to choose from, and then he sends it into Mitsuzane's protective bubble like a letter posted under a door. The letter morphs into a folded piece of paper. Mitsuzane stands alone in the centre of the dome. He unfolds the page and looks at the snapshot on it. He blinks. 

He denies the memory. 

Takatora feels their minds bridge over it as they both consider the same image. Mitsuzane doesn't remember it. No, he _remembers_ it, but has convinced himself he imagined it. A tiny boy, seeking comfort, dreamt his niisan gave him a hug when he was scared, because that never actually happens in reality. Niisan is always too _busy_ , always helping everyone else. 

Mitsuzane looks up at him suddenly, looking right through the barrier like it doesn't even exist. _Are you making fun of me?_ , he asks. 

_No!_ Takatora recoils in horror at the very thought of it. The barrier smooths over the holes as though they never existed. His one way in and it's gone. Takatora knows instinctively that it won't work the same way again if he tries. _I would never!_ He bangs his fists against the barrier. _You have to let me in! Mitsuzane!_

_You have to stop seeing me like this then, niisan,_ Mitsuzane says, gesturing down at himself. _I'm not a little boy anymore._

-


End file.
